EuroBasket Preview: Group A, A Big Greek Freak Missing
EuroBasket gets ready to start on August 31 and is one of the best competitions of international basketball out there. It’s taking place in Finland, Romania, Israel and Turkey from August 31 – September 17. There are plenty of big names playing in the event and some missing due to injury. EuroBasket is made up of 24 teams, playing in 4 groups. The top-4 from each group advance to the knockout round. Spain is the reigning champ from 2015. We’ll be taking a look at each group over the next few days, breaking down the roster and picking who should advance to the knockout round. I highly suggest watching the event if you can as it is probably the third most competitive event behind the Olympics and World Cup for basketball.
Group A
Venue: Helsinki, Finland
Teams (World Rank): France (4), Poland (38), Greece (13), Finland (32), Iceland (84), Slovenia (12)
Rosters:
Story lines to watch:
1. The absence of Giannis
I blogged about this not too long ago. This was a messy situation as Greece called out the Bucks for essentially pressuring Giannis to miss EuroBaket while nursing a knee injury. It’s something that comes up quite a bit in international competition as guys have to try and balance country pride vs a paycheck. Greece would be one of the favorites to win the entire tournament with Giannis on the roster and now with him missing they fall to one of the middle tier groups.
2. The last run for Goran Dragic
This will be the last international competition for Slovenia’s Goran Dragic, who is only 31, but wants to focus on his NBA career going forward. Luckily for him Slovenia has the best team that he’s played with and the way the bracket could break, he will have his best chance to get a medal. Dragic has been unbelievable for Slovenia in international competitions, helping them get 5th place at the 2014 FIBA World Championships. Part of the reason why Slovenia can medal?
3. A look at Luka Doncic
The one arguably unknown in the loaded top-8 for next year’s Draft is Luka Doncic, simply because he’s not playing in America. Well, if you want to see him play against some NBA talent and world class talent, this is an event to tune in to. Doncic will be a key part for this Slovenia team as he is one of the three key parts along with Dragic and Anthony Randolph (not listed on the above roster). Doncic is a very complete player, who has pretty good vision for an 18-year old. Look for him to run some offensive sets in a pick-and-roll with Randolph or setting up a lob to Randolph. Doncic is one of the better pick-and-roll players in this tournament because he is a threat to shoot and has good range to along with his passing.
4. France without Tony Parker
One of the names missing is Tony Parker, a staple for the French team throughout international competition. He’s obviously going to miss significant time with the Spurs as well due to his injury, but we’re focusing on France here. There are still some names that people will know for the French team, but the real question is how does Antoine Diot back up Nando De Colo at the point guard spot, especially when you see Frankie Nicotine not playing either. The point guard depth for France has always been an advantage and now with the changing of the guard of Parker/De Colo to Diot/Frankie, a strong performance by Diot could set them up for the future.
5. Finland’s Home Court Advantage
This Finnish team is going to be a lot of fun to watch. They will get up and down the court and have a chance to make a statement early as they start the tournament off by playing France on August 31. Throw in the fact they are playing at home with a crowd that will be loud and intimidating they’ll have a huge advantage in a group that is fairly balanced. Finland has a couple names you know, most notably Lauri Markkanen. He really broke out while playing for Finnish junior national teams and his ability to play the small-ball 4/5 in international competition makes him that special. Look for him to thrive playing in Finland.
Five Best Players:
1. Goran Dragic (Slovenia)
2. Luka Doncic (Slovenia)
3. Evan Fournier (France)
4. Mateusz Ponitka (Poland)
5. Lauri Markkanen (Finland)
Projected Order of finish:
I’m going to go a little away from the norm here and pick Slovenia to win this group. I know France is the clear favorite according to books, but I like Slovenia’s top-3 the best. I think you see Dragic really try to make a case for Slovenia and set up the best chance to get a medal. They are going for about 11/1 at some places to win the group. Finland is another team to keep an eye on as playing at home in Europe really means something in terms of advantages.
1. Slovenia
2. France
3. Finland
4. Greece
Not advancing:
5. Poland
6. Iceland